Mammograms May Be More Harmful Than Previously Thought

A recent studied has unearthed evidence that supports the fact that mammograms could be a lot more harmful to our bodies than we had previously thought. The benefits of receiving a mammogram are beneficial, but it seems as if there may be some sort of down side to the whole ordeal. This means that physicians and patients should think twice about the screening test based of the risk and the preferences of each individual.
Lydia Pace and Nancy Keating are both from the Boston Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and they both said that women should be looking to put a distance between them and the guidelines that are currently being withheld for mammogram processes at certain ages. 40 is the most common number is this case, and they should be weighing the benefits, as well as the risks when they’re considering getting the test done. Speaking with your physicians and determining your limitations is important at this point.

“The take-home for the average woman is, first of all, that there is no right answer about mammography screening,” stated Pace, whom is relevant amongst global women’s health at Brigham and Women’s. “The data that we have is not perfect, and they are mixed. But they do strongly suggest that although mammography does have benefits, it does also have a lot of harms, and those harms are not insubstantial.”

They took a look at studies that dated all the way back to 1960, when they saw that in every 10,000 women between the ages of 40 to 49 whom received a regular mammogram only five lives would be saved with early detection of cancers. When it came to women whom were the ages 50 to 59, 10 lives would be saved in this respect, while women who are 60 to 69 has 42 lives saved.